Captain Phil Harris – The Book

A candid narrative deconstructs the turbulent personal and professional life of the late Deadliest Catch star Phil Harris.
Told by Harris’ sons and written with the help of journalists Springer and Chavez, this biography of the reality-TV star captures the gritty details of his high-speed life, declining health and death. Harris surely personified the prologue’s statement that, “Pound for pound, crabbers are the toughest bastards on earth.”

With a history of fishing in his family, Harris, who as a high school kid was voted least likely to succeed, became a living legend in this dangerous job undertaken in one of the world’s harshest environments, the Bering Sea.

Revered as a skilled seamen, Harris’ onshore behavior was notorious.

Numerous escapades fueled by alcohol, copious amounts of various drugs combined with womanizing and a bizarre family life meant Harris was pegged as “a rock star even before he was a TV star.”

A turbulent marriage produced two sons and plenty of pain. Alcohol took a toll on his relationship and his work. A second marriage proved more disastrous, especially for Harris’ two sons. In 2005, the Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch debuted, and Harris was on the road to becoming a reality-TV celebrity. In 2008, he was at the height of his TV fame, but his bad habits began taking a toll, and his health deteriorated.

In 2010, Harris suffered a massive stroke. With his consent, Harris’ last hours were filmed by the show’s producers, with 8.5 million viewers tuning in to watch.

An unflinching portrait that will surely satisfy Harris’ fans.  Please visit captphilbook.com for more.

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Deadliest Catch Season 9

From EW.com Tonight, Deadliest Catch returns for its ninth season on Discovery, and there is top-notch drama even before the fleet leaves Dutch Harbor. Here, courtesy of exec producer David Pritikin, is a tease of what’s to come. • Elliott Neese is now his own boss: Fired from the Ramblin’ Rose in the offseason, the show’s [...]

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Deadliest Catch Captains talk Social Media

  Some of the Deadliest Catch Captains visited Austin to participate in the SXSW festival.  Johnathan Hillstrand , Sig Hansen and Keith Colburn had a lively conversation with Shira Lazar of “What’s Trending” about how they use social media.  It was a good conversation and humorous as Johnathan talked about why he stopped following Alec [...]

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Matt Fahey: Deadliest Catch cameraman faces new challenge

“It was probably going to sea on the Cornelia Marie for the first time. It was for Phil’s memorial. To be part of such a special occasion, and to be documenting it made me really appreciate the community here and the culture of fishing. It was a unique experience and it would have to be [...]

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Why is Deadliest Catch so Popular?

This blog is in response to a recent article in the New York Times entitled, “A Soap Opera on the High Seas”.  The article was mostly about Thom Beers, the creator of Deadliest Catch but it also attempts to explain why “Deadliest Catch” is so popular. (referring to Thom Beers) “He turned crab fishing into [...]

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Thom Beers: Deadliest Catch Creator

I met Thom Beers while at the televised memorial of Capt. Phil.  He introduced himself as the creator of “Deadliest Catch”, but I of course knew who he was.   I could tell he took great ownership in the show.  At the time of Phil’s passing he seemed to be highly involved in all aspects of [...]

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FV Northwestern under State Investigation for Rat

  Do you remember during the fifth episode of Season 8 when the crew of the FV Northwestern finds a rat aboard?  The crew plays around with the critter until finally it goes overboard.  Well, now apparently the State of Alaska is investigating the FV Northwestern for “harboring a rat” which can amount to a [...]

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